Gershon Kingsley
Gershon Kingsley (born Götz Gustav Ksinski; October 28, 1922 – December 10, 2019) was a German-American composer,[1] a pioneer of electronic music and the Moog synthesizer, a partner in the electronic music duo Perrey and Kingsley, founder of the First Moog Quartet, and writer of rock-inspired compositions for Jewish religious ceremonies.[2] Kingsley is most famous for his 1969 influential electronic instrumental composition "Popcorn".[1]
Gershon Kingsley
Götz Gustav Ksinski
Gershon Kingsley
October 28, 1922
Bochum, Weimar Republic
December 10, 2019 (aged 97)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Composer, arranger, keyboardist, conductor
Synthesizer, piano
1954–2019
Kingsley conducted and arranged many Broadway musicals,[3] and he composed for film, television shows[4] and commercials.[5] His compositions were eclectic and vary between avant-garde and pop styles. Kingsley also composed classical chamber works, and his opera Raoul was premiered in Bremen, Germany in 2008.[6] His work was recognized with a Tony Award nomination for Best Conductor and Musical Director,[7] two Clio Awards for his work in advertising music, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bob Moog Foundation.[8] Kingsley died on December 10, 2019, at the age of 97 in Manhattan, New York.[9][10]
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Kingsley was born Götz Gustav Ksinski in 1922 in Bochum, Weimar Republic, the son of Marie Christina, a homemaker, and Max Ksinski, a carpet dealer and pianist. His father was born Jewish and his mother, originally Catholic, converted to Judaism.[10] He grew up in Berlin where his parents ran a large carpet shop. They had originally met in Essen, when his father, returning from Berlin on a business trip, had dropped in to a wine bar managed by two sisters, one of whom soon became Kingsley's mother. The elder Ksinski had spent the evening playing the piano in the bar, after which romance quickly blossomed.[11]